bending questions, and bottom/left arm giving in completly!

[katiesuisse]

Hi, I am a female pole vaulter in High School, I am sophomore. I have been vaulting since my freshman year. I really love vaulting, and I cannot wait to take it to the next level. For me to take it to the next level, I need to bend. I have stiff poled 9'4. I cannot go any higher with a stiff pole! I have a 120, 12ft pole, whenever I start to get bend or anything along the lines my lower/left hand completly collapses, and than i lose all my power, and ability to bend. It's not that I can't bend it, I could get a bit stronger, but when my coach and I do pole bends I get a nice bend. My dad and I think that it's a confidence issue, like a mental block. I really am confused, and I want nothing more to start getting bend to take me to the next level. Please help, thank you so much! (:
--Any general tips would be helpful!

[rainbowgirl28]

I think you need an 11'120 and an 11'6 120. I hate it when coaches don't buy small enough poles for girls and then blame the athlete when they can't bend it.

Jumping 9'4 on a straight pole is good, it sounds like you are off to a good start. If you start trying to bend the pole, you'll probably jump lower. Just focus on running fast and being as tall as possible at takeoff.

[KirkB]

... I have a 120, 12ft pole, whenever I start to get bend or anything along the lines my lower/left hand completly collapses, and than i lose all my power, and ability to bend. It's not that I can't bend it, I could get a bit stronger, but when my coach and I do pole bends I get a nice bend. ...

What do you mean by "I lose all my power"?

I don't understand how your bottom arm collapsing can cause you to "lose your power". What do you do that's different when the pole bends (compared to when it doesn't bend)?

Can you describe what you mean by a "pole bend"? And what you mean by "a nice bend"?

It sounds to me like you're expecting to go from 0 bend to a big bend. That's not how it should work. You should be going from 0 bend to a very slight bend. Then once you're swinging OK on a very slight bend, you should run faster and jump harder ... with a smoother,taller plant, of course ... and you'll get a little more bend.

Before you know it ... in a few weeks perhaps ... you'll be planting smoother ... and getting enough bend ... to allow you to grip even higher than your are now.

I'll let rainbowgirl be the judge on the right size pole for you ... and I'm really saying the same thing as her but in a different way: You need to GRADUALLY start bending the pole ... a little at a time.

If you can answer the 4 questions I asked, I'll be able to give you a bit more advice.

Kirk

[katiesuisse]

When I run down the runway, and I plant my lower arm fully becomes stuck on the pole. I loose all my power, for the first few milliseconds that my lower arm should be out to start to create the bend, my arm collapse right into the pole. I have enough muscle to bend it, but I am stiff poling around 9ft. I won't go any higher until I learn to bend. Pole bends are when you plant up, than take three steps back and run in the box, and my coach holds me up in the air, while the pole is bending, with the knee drive, separation, and reserve C. I don't really think I'll get manly bend anytime soon. but ANY bend would be better than where i am at now. When we do rock-backs I have a nice swing. It's something I am doing to deny the pole from bending but we aren't sure what it is.
-- Thank you!

[souleman]

Katie
Please search posts regarding stiff lower arm and "bending a pole". For one, the bend is created by a good technical jump and not, never has been, never will be the result of anything you do with the lower arm.It's all about the plant and take off. There are many threads addressing this. If you find them and read them you'll have a better understanding of what is being said. Now if you really can't find your answers come on back ask again and one of us will do it........again. Good luck and Hey! Welcome to the PVP forum. Later..................Mike

[superpipe]

I agree you probably need a shorter pole than a 12' pole. Without seeing video your problem sounds like your bottom arm elbow is not bent out to the left where it should be at take-off. The bottom arm elbow only collapses when it's down and almost in front of your face when you plant. Everything falls apart at that point. Your hips will get sucked under before you know it. Here are my favorite pictures again showing how your elbow must be bent way out to the left at your plant and into your take-off. This is the only way you can properly finish a take-off with the correct posture:




Doing "pole bends" is useless and only teaches you to block out with the lower arm which is exactly what you don't want to do.

[altius]

Buy a copy of the BTB2 book or video and take a look at Lauren Eley jumping 12'8" doing what you imply with your left arm.

[KirkB]

Doing "pole bends" is useless and only teaches you to block out with the lower arm which is exactly what you don't want to do.

Yup!

Remember that it's your TOP arm that bends the pole ... not your BOTTOM arm.

And if the top arm ISN'T bending the pole, if you're putting as much of your weight on it as you possibly can ... and as little weight on your bottom arm as you can ... then you're still going to get the proper swinging motion. The proper swinging motion is a pendulum which rotates around your TOP arm. You top arm is the fulcrum of the pendulum.

It's by getting this swing going ... with the TOP arm ... that you'll eventually be putting so much force into the pole that it will bend ... as you see Bubka bending his pole in the pics above.

You don't need to be the WR holder to swing this way. Even at 9 or 10 feet, the same technique is ESSENTIAL ... if you want to improve your PR.

Kirk

[KirkB]

Buy a copy of the BTB2 book or video and take a look at Lauren Eley jumping 12'8" doing what you imply with your left arm.

BTB2 has several pages of pics of Lauren Eley, but starting on pg 249 (I think), you see her taking off with what some people might regard as being "fiber-faced" ... meaning that her bottom arm "buckles" (no resistance), and her bottom hand is very close to her face ... as she passes thru the C position. You then see on pg 254 that she whips her trail leg thru to the chord, and as she does this, the space between her face and her bottom hand (and the pole) widens.

This is becuz the pole is bending due to the force of her TOP arm on the pole. It is NOT due to any "pressing", "pushing", or "blocking" action with the bottom arm. If you were to watch these still pics of her vault in a vid, you MIGHT think that she's actually PUSHING with her bottom arm ... but she's NOT. It's an illusion that has often been discussed here on PVP (you can search for the threads). Trust us ... she's not pressing or pushing ... the pole is simply bending away from her.

Being "fiber-faced" and letting her bottom arm "buckle" is NOT a bad technique ... it's actually expected!

After pg 254, there's several more pics of Lauren that show how she turns a vault where her bottom arm "collapses" into a very nice whip thru the chord.

This is not advanced technique. It's what you should be striving for ... even with your 9-4 PR. It will take time ... don't expect overnight improvements. Just be patient, and focus on this technique. You pole will eventually bend properly this way.

Kirk